The Art of the Possible: Lighting, Sound, Set & Costume for Independent Productions

Fuel for your artistic evolution

This Winter Nights, we’re delivering 10 professional development workshops designed to spark creativity and build industry skills. From performance to producing and marketing to design, these sessions are here to empower, inspire, and strengthen our arts community. 

This workshop is about making strong, clear design choices when resources, time, and budgets are limited. Aimed at emerging and independent theatre-makers, the session explores how lighting, sound, set, and costume can work together to support storytelling in intimate spaces and productions with tight constraints. 

About Facilitator

Lucy Birkinshaw is a Lighting Designer with over 20 years’ experience working across independent theatre through to large-scale productions, including theatre, dance, puppetry, opera, musicals, installation art and live music performances. The workshop draws on hands-on experience at The Blue Room Theatre. While grounded in the realities of this venue, the discussion focuses on practical strategies that translate easily to other performance spaces and the scale of work. Through examples, discussion, and short design prompts, participants will explore how working within limitations can spark smarter, bolder, and more effective design choices.